Northern Lights could potentially be visible in Pennsylvania this weekend

The event is courtesy of a solar flare, which erupted out of a sunspot late Thursday into early Friday.

Thanks to a geomagnetic storm from the sun, skywatchers across most of Canada and the northern US should get a special treat Sunday night into Monday morning: A visit from the aurora borealis, aka the Northern Lights.

The Space Weather Prediction Center said Friday that the Northern Lights may be visible farther south than usual on the night of Sunday, July 16. The southern lights are known as aurora australis.

The aurora is caused by electrons colliding with the upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere.

He will be tracking the potential on KIRO 7 News starting Sunday night at 5 p.m. and continuing at 6:30 and 11 p.m.

CLICK THIS LINK for the latest 30-minute "forecast" for auroral activity, paying special attention to how far south the red "view line" extends. As well, your best chance at catching them is to get away from city lights. The darker your sky, the better. Look north any time after sunset.